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THE BEST-PERFORMING CEOs IN THE WORLD

Steadiness and stability—important virtues in turbulent times—characterize the100 CEOs on HBR’s list of top chief executives for 2018. Of those 100 men and women,70 were on last year’s list. Over the past five years, 23 have appeared three ti mes, 17 have appeared four times, and six have appeared five times: Jeffrey Bezos, of Amazon; Pablo Isla, of Inditex (ranked number one for the second year running);Blake Nordstrom, of Nordstrom; Paolo Rocca, of Tenaris; James Taiclet Jr., of American Tower; and Renato Alves Vale, of CCR.

HBR’s approach to measuring performance, as well as the unwavering leadership style of these CEOs, accounts for this consistency. Our ranking takes the long view: It’s based primarily on financial returns over a CEO’s entire tenure—and these executives have been in the role for an average of 16 years. It also factors in each company’s rating on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

Among the biggest issues leaders face right now is the global political environment. Two U.S.CEOs who appear on this year’s list hold differing views about speaking out on politics, which they have expressed in recent HBR interviews with editor in chief Adi Ignatius. Satya Nadella, of Microsoft, believes in taking a stand on issues that are directly relevant to his company’s business but not in voicing his personal political beliefs. “Taking a political stance [is]…not what our employees expect of me, ”he says. In contrast, Jamie Dimon, of JPMorgan Chase, says, “If you want the right publicpolicy….[y]ou need to talk about tax policy, trade, immigration, technology.”

CEO activism doesn’t factor directly into our rankings, but it may be captured indirectly in ESG ratings, which account for company lobbying expenditures, the degree of disclosure on issues such as carbon use, and the existence of a sustainability officer at the company’s top level,among other measures.

HBR Reprint R1806B

FEATURES

LEADERSHIP

UNITE YOUR SENIOR TEAM

Bernard C.Kümmerli, Scott D. Anthony, and Markus Messerer|page 088

Disruptive change poses existential challenges to leadership teams, raising foundational questions about aspirations, identity, and the very soul of a company.So it is no surprise that leadership teams often struggle to achieve alignment on what degree of growth is needed and what markets and types of innovations to invest in.

This article provides a novel and practical road map for achieving leadership alignment. It offers tools to help executive teams establish a foundation of common understanding, expose misalignment, and catalyze decision making through physicalexercises.

The approach is illustrated through the example of Swisscom,a global telecom facing stagnation and decline in a mature industry. Using the program, it converged  on a clear long-term growth strategy, launching a set of innovative ventures, creati ng a VC-like group to oversee new innovation investments, and locking in a schedule of annually increasing funding.

HBR Reprint R1806D

FEATURES

OPERATIONS

REINVENTING CUSTOMER SERVICE

Matthew Dixon|page 098

Customer service jobs are notoriously joyless, and callers’ experiences with reps can be just as unsatisfying. But T-Mobile has a new operating model that’s making both employees and customers happier.

There are no rows of service agents robotically responding to random calls as quickly as possible. Instead, T-Mobile relies on colocated, collaborative teams of reps who manage specific accounts in a given locale, with a focus on autonomous problem solving. Reps get more-comprehensive training, managers get more time for coaching, and team members are evaluated on group performance as well as individual performance. In addition, teams are authorized and expected to manage their own P&L statements.

The results are impressive: In three years, T-Mobile has dramatically reduced its customer churn rate, cost to serve, and employee attrition and absenteeism. Its Net Promoter Score is way up too. Other companies might likewise benefit from similar efforts to rethink standard industry practices.

HBR Reprint R1806F

FEATURES

INNOVATION

BRING YOUR BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS TO LIFE

Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux, and Michael Wade|page 108

Digital advances in the past two decades have enabled more people than ever before to express creative intelligence. Yet apart from the transformation of services powered by mobile apps and the internet, few sectors have seen spectacular surges of innovation—and only 43% of companies have what experts consider a well-defined process for it. In this article the authors present a five-part framework to guide the development and ensure the survival of breakthrough ideas: Focus attention closely and with fresh eyes, step back to gain perspective, imagine unorthodox combinations, experiment quickly and smartly, and navigate potentially hostile environments outside and within the organization. The elements of this framework are not unique, but collectively they capture the critical role of reflection in conceiving opportunities, the ways in which digital tools can advance them, and the level of organizational reinvention needed in the final push to market.

HBR Reprint R1806H